Obama keeping Gates as head of Defense Dept.

Retired general in line for national security adviser

Beth Fouhy and David Espo, Associated Press

Published
4:00 am PST, Wednesday, November 26, 2008

** FILE ** In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at the Pentagon during a promotion ceremony to four-star General for Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody. Seeking experience in wartime, President-elect Barack Obama intends to re-enlist Gates as head of the Pentagon _ if only temporarily _ and has chosen retired Gen. James Jones, a retired Marine general to be White House national security adviser, officials said Tuesday Nov. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) less

** FILE ** In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at the Pentagon during a promotion ceremony to four-star General for Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody. Seeking experience in wartime, ... more

Photo: Susan Walsh, AP

Photo: Susan Walsh, AP

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** FILE ** In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at the Pentagon during a promotion ceremony to four-star General for Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody. Seeking experience in wartime, President-elect Barack Obama intends to re-enlist Gates as head of the Pentagon _ if only temporarily _ and has chosen retired Gen. James Jones, a retired Marine general to be White House national security adviser, officials said Tuesday Nov. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) less

** FILE ** In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at the Pentagon during a promotion ceremony to four-star General for Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody. Seeking experience in wartime, ... more

Photo: Susan Walsh, AP

Obama keeping Gates as head of Defense Dept.

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Seeking experience in a time of war, President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job - if only temporarily - and he has chosen a retired Marine general to be his national security adviser, officials said Tuesday.

Gates and retired Gen. James Jones bring years of experience to the Cabinet of a 47-year-old commander in chief with a relatively thin foreign policy resume.

Obama, who rolled out the key components of his economic team this week, plans to announce his foreign policy brain trust after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Gates, who has served as President Bush's defense chief for two years, will remain in the Cabinet for some time, probably a year, according to an official familiar with discussions between the two men. A Democratic official said Jones was Obama's pick to head the National Security Council, the part of the White House structure that deals with foreign policy.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not authorized anybody to discuss the deliberations.

Along with the expected selection of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to head the State Department, Obama's latest moves solidify a national security team with star power, but also strong centrist and establishment ties that run counter to his campaign calls for change and a speedy withdrawal from Iraq.

The intelligence side of Obama's team made shakier headway Tuesday as John Brennan, who had been considered Obama's pick for CIA director, withdrew his name from consideration. Brennan cited a groundswell of criticism about his association with the Bush administration's sanctioning of harsh interrogations of terror suspects. Former Adm. Dennis Blair has emerged as a likely candidate for director of national intelligence, which oversees CIA and other intelligence agencies.

Gates, a moderate with long-standing ties to Republican administrations and the Bush family, would fulfill an Obama pledge to include a Republican in his Cabinet.

Retaining Gates provides stability for a stretched military fighting two wars during the turbulent changeover in administrations. Gates once said it was inconceivable that he would stay on past the close of Bush's second term on Jan. 20.

Keeping Gates might afford Obama a sort of extended transition, in which critical military issues are left in trusted hands while Obama focuses most intensely on the financial crisis.

This is the first wartime presidential transition since 1968, when the Vietnam War was under way, and there is extra concern about security vulnerabilities during this handover.

As Obama's choice for national security adviser, Jones has impeccable military credentials, an ambassador's polish and an imposing physical presence at 6-foot-4. He's highly regarded by Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, and as the NATO alliance's top commander - his last assignment before retiring from the military in early 2007 - he's a respected figure in capitals across Europe.

Jones was born in Kansas City, Mo., and grew up in France where his father - also a Marine - worked for International Harvester, the farm equipment company. Jones returned to the United States for his senior year of high school and graduated from Georgetown University.